Distribution of Loxothylacus texanus (Cirripedia: Rhizocephala) Parasitizing Crabs of the Genus Callinectes in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

A preliminary study on the interaction between the parasitic barnacle Loxothylacus texanus and two of its host species, the blue crab Callinectes sapidus and the dark blue crab C. rathbunae, deposited in the Colección de Crustáceos, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), that were collected in 14 coastal lagoons and sites along the mexican coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The distribution of L. texanus parasitizing each one of the host species, mean host size variation, distribution of number of parasite externae per host, and morphological modifications of the abdomen of the hosts are analyzed.